Tampa Bay Buccaneers: One defensive line target in every round

Round 7: Cortez Broughton, Cincinnati

Finishing up with another massive sleeper, in the last round of the draft the Buccaneers could land Cortes Broughton from the University of Cincinnati. It is not often that a seventh round pick could come in and compete for quality reps on day-one, but Broughton has the potential to do just that.

In 2018, Broughton lit up the stat sheet, recording 18.5 tackles for loss, seven and a half sacks, 52 total tackles, and knocked down five passes at the line of scrimmage while forcing two fumbles. Somehow these numbers did not get Broughton an invitation to the combine last month.

At his pro day, however, Broughton measured in at 6’2, 293 pounds and ran a 5.01 40 yard dash. In addition, he hit 24 reps on the bench press, 33.5 inches on his vertical jump, nine and a half feet on his broad jump, and ran a 7.65 3-cone drill. While Broughton is slept on, he has all the desirable traits necessary to compete at the next level.

The Buccaneers could add some solid depth to compete with their backup defensive lineman and potentially play his way into being a significant contributor, even as a rookie. With a seventh round investment, Tampa Bay could land one of the steals of the draft in Broughton.